The Anambra State Government has defended the one-week closure of the Onitsha Main Market, insisting that the state remains safe for business and that continued compliance with the Monday sit-at-home has no security justification.
The Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, said on Tuesday that the decision to shut the market followed repeated defiance of government directives by traders, despite what he described as improved security conditions across the state.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Mefor said, “Anambra is safe for business, the fear factor is no longer there. Maybe in the past when this sit-at-home started, but now it is no longer an issue.”
He said the persistence of Monday closures, particularly at the Onitsha Main Market, had moved beyond fear and was now driven by convenience.

“The traders now converted Monday into an extension of the weekend, and this in itself is seriously affecting the socio-economic life of the state,” he said.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo ordered the shutdown of the Onitsha Main Market on Monday after traders failed to open their shops, despite repeated warnings to disregard the sit-at-home linked to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The Guardian reports that the state government had deployed security operatives, including police and military personnel, to enforce the closure, turning back traders who attempted to access the market.

Mefor said the government was acting within its powers to ensure economic activity continued uninterrupted.
“The Governor and this government have every right to ensure that there is an even running of the state,” he said, adding that Anambra was losing an estimated ₦8 billion every Monday markets remained closed.

A media aide to the governor, Mazi Ejimofor Opara, said the sit-at-home practice amounted to economic sabotage.
“The position of the state government is clear and unambiguous and that is the height of economic sabotage and if you look at the humongous economic loss during each Monday sit at home you will discover that it is a rip off on the economy of the state and that of the business community,” he said.

In a separate statement, the governor’s Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, said the market closure followed “defiance of the market leadership to open, against government directive,” and was aimed at restoring normal commercial activity. Soludo warned that tougher measures could follow if non-compliance continued.

“The government cannot stand by while a few individuals willfully undermine public safety and disregard official directives meant to restore normalcy, this is plain economic sabotage,” the governor said. “You either decide that you are going to trade here or you go elsewhere. I am very serious about this.”

While the Onitsha Main Market remained shut, other markets such as Nkwo Nnewi, Eke Awka and Ekwulobia reportedly opened at low capacity, with traders citing fear of attacks by miscreants as the reason for limited activity.
The sit-at-home, originally imposed by IPOB to press for the release of its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has disrupted economic and social life in parts of the Southeast for nearly four years. Although IPOB later said the order had been lifted, observance has continued in many areas, particularly on Mondays.

Pro-rata salaries
The state government has also announced that from February 2026, civil servants’ salaries will be paid on a pro-rata basis to discourage absenteeism on Mondays. Mefor said workers who fail to report to duty would have their pay adjusted accordingly.
“The thing has to be done. Four years is enough. The economic loss of the sit-at-home runs into trillions since it started,” he said, explaining that salaries would be calculated based on a 24-working-day month.

He added that mechanisms were being put in place for workers to clock in and out on Mondays.
“Under normal circumstances, persistent absence on Mondays could be treated as absenteeism leading to dismissal, but the government has opted for a pro-rata approach instead,” Mefor said. “If you don’t want to lose your salary for that Monday, then you come to work.”

He said continued absenteeism by civil servants was affecting government operations and revenue generation, particularly in agencies such as the Anambra Internal Revenue Service.
“Any day civil servants fail to come to work, it means that the state government’s business will stagnate and, by implication, the economy of the state will stagnate,” he said.

IPOB, however, rejected the government’s measures, insisting the sit-at-home remained voluntary. Its spokesman, Emma Powerful, said, “No governor has the lawful power to compel free citizens to open their businesses or move about against their will,” warning that enforcement measures infringed on residents’ rights.

The disagreement has continued amid broader concerns about the economic cost of the sit-at-home across the Southeast. A report by SBM Intelligence in May 2025 estimated that businesses in the region had lost about ₦7.6 trillion since the practice began, with sectors such as trade, transportation and small businesses recording income losses of between 50 and 70 per cent.
A commercial lawyer, Declan Ibekwe, said the continued observance was damaging business confidence and mobility. “I can’t imagine having a case to attend at a court in Ebonyi State from my base in Abia State on a Monday and being unable to do so because of the fear that there will be no movement,” he said, describing the trend as “the simplest way to kill the economy.”
Despite the resistance, the Anambra government said negotiations were ongoing with market leaders and that security measures were being strengthened to reassure traders and residents. “

The state is losing so much due to the sit-at-home, and the government cannot be asking the markets and other informal sectors to show up on Monday when its own workforce has refused to come,” Mefor said.